In Situ Photochemical Synthesis of Zn-Doped Cu2O Hollow Microcubes for High Efficient Photocatalytic H2 Production

Traditionally, Cu ion-based oxide materials are considered not functional as photocatalysts owing to their instability in the photoelectrochemical processes. Here, we report on the light-induced photochemical synthesis of Cu2O microcubes utilizing CuWO4 as the precursor. It was found that under light irradiation and in the presence of glucose CuWO4 could be reduced in situ into Cu2O with its morphology reassembled from irregular bulk particles to hollow microcubes. Similar morphology transformation could not be observed when CuO or Cu­(NO3)2 were used as precursors. More importantly, the in situ photochemical-synthesized Cu2O naoncubes showed both high activity and excellent stability for glucose reforming under visible light, which overcame the general barrier of Cu2O instability in photochemical processes. The activity could be remarkably enhanced when 0.1 wt % Zn was doped into the Cu2O. The excellent performances of the material were related to the existence of hollow microcubes and the modified band structure due to Zn doping.